Hello to the most incredible community!
I hope you're taking care of yourself this week, and if you're not quite there yet, that's okay. That's what this newsletter is for.
This week's questions come from three people at very different points. One is a parent whose son had a concussion as a kid and still deals with headaches and a short fuse. One has a sweet tooth and wants a list of better swaps. One has PCOS, fatty liver and painful periods, and a doctor already talking about a hysterectomy.
Here's the thread tying them together. Inflammation. After a head injury it shows up as oxidative stress in the brain. In your diet it starts with refined sugar. In your cycle it runs through the gut and the liver that clear your hormones. Different places, same question: what's feeding it, and what does your body need to clear it? Let's get into it.
Here's what we're covering in today's questions:
(Click to skip ahead)
Thank you for being here. Now on to the questions!
Inflammation usually starts where your food lands first.
Every answer this week comes back to inflammation, and two of them trace it to the same two places. Refined sugar disrupts the gut microbiome. Your liver is where hormones like estrogen get processed and cleared. That's where Nurse Doza sends this week's third reader.
The Good Poops Protocol is the three-product set he built for that job: GUT for the gut lining, LIVER BOOST for both phases of the liver's natural detox work, and Berberine Plus for healthy blood sugar. It's a 60-day supply, taken together.
November only: an extra 20% off. $223.20 for the 60-day protocol (regularly $279), applied automatically at checkout. Ends November 30.
Q: Hi Nurse Doza, I have a question about my son. He had a concussion years ago when he was a kid and I am worried about his brain and his memory. He gets angry really easily sometimes and he complains of headaches from time to time. Is there something you recommend that we do for him now? I worry about him when he gets older.
A: Nurse Doza: Concussions can have lingering effects on the brain. With traumatic brain injuries, there is direct physical damage to the brain tissue and it's hard to see this on imaging and lab work. There are a few things I would try based on current research.
(Before anything else: headaches and a short fuse years after a head injury are worth bringing to his doctor, and if the headaches are getting worse or changing, get him seen soon. Everything below goes alongside that care, not instead of it. If he's still under 18 or takes any medication, run these supplements by his doctor first.)
How to support his brain after a concussion:
I would have him take a high dose Omega 3 DHA. The brain is mostly fat, and DHA is the main Omega 3 in it. Taking this vital nutrient has been studied for its role in supporting the parts of the brain that help us with learning, executive function and memory, and DHA has also been studied for its role in brain recovery after a concussion. I would still take it after all these years. This is our MEGA Os supplement that is very high in Omega 3 DHA.
I would consider taking Magnesium Threonate, a special form of magnesium that can cross the blood brain barrier more easily. It has been studied for its neuroprotective properties and its role in memory, alertness and productivity. This is a study where Magnesium Threonate improved deep sleep scores, using the Oura ring to track. Deep sleep is when we can "clean out" and repair our brain. Magnesium Threonate is found in our BRAINESIUM lemon-lime powdered supplement that I have personally taken for years and have noticed an improvement in my focus and memory.
I would also consider antioxidants such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), Curcumin (Turmeric extract), Alpha Lipoic Acid, and green tea extract (EGCG), which have all been studied for their role in reducing oxidative stress in the brain caused by inflammation and free radical production. Plus they all support the body, the brain and the liver in making Glutathione, the body's "master" antioxidant. All those incredible antioxidants are found in our LIVER BOOST supplement.
Red light therapy has also been studied after concussion for its effects on blood flow to the brain, brain inflammation, memory and alertness, and even brain mitochondria. I absolutely LOVE red light therapy as we use it daily in our clinic and at home for our family to help support our overall health. And there's a HUGE sale going on for Black Friday on the panel that we use all the time (code DOZABF2026).
Don't forget to get Chiropractic adjustments, as some patients find they help with lingering concussion symptoms.
Extra credit: if you want the bigger picture on how the brain recovers, from sleep to the gut-brain connection, take our $10 Brain Health course.
The panel running in the clinic every day has a Black Friday code.
Red light shows up in the answer above because it's part of Nurse Doza's own routine. It runs every day in the clinic, and at home with his family.
That panel is a Light Path LED. Pulsed light, the most LEDs per square inch they could find, veteran owned, with a 1 to 5 year warranty depending on the device.
Black Friday: up to 30% off with code DOZABF2026.
Q: Nurse Doza, I saw one of your recent videos about sugar substitutes in your favorite foods. Do you have a list of your favorite ones to use? I'm trying to get healthier but I have a sweet tooth. I know fruit is way healthier for us but I'm just not there yet. Thank you for your help!
A: Nurse Doza: I am so glad that you are making these dietary changes for your overall health. I have a sweet tooth as well and I have changed my sugar intake over the years using the following list of sugar substitutes, and I would be happy to share that list.
The best & healthiest sugar substitutes in foods (based on the glycemic index score: a lower glycemic index score is better):
10. Brown sugar index score: 70
9. Date sugar index score: 60
8. Honey index score: 58
7. Molasses index score: 55
6. Maple syrup index score: 50
5. Coconut sugar index score: 35
4. Agave syrup index score: 15
3. Xylitol index score: 12
2. Monk fruit index score: 0
1. Stevia / Stevia extract index score: 0
This is not an all-inclusive list of sugar substitutes, but as you can tell, you are able to recognize most of these sugars in their original form. When sugar is refined and heavily processed, it not only raises your blood glucose, it can raise your insulin and disrupt the gut microbiome, all of which can contribute to systemic inflammation in the body. Let me know which of these on the list you start using more of, and hopefully one day, all your sugar will come in the form of fruit.
Extra credit: we have a new LIVE health course starting this Tuesday, November 3, in the School of Doza called The Holiday Health Course. You should sign up as we are going to talk about how to cook and eat healthy, how to handle blood sugar at the big holiday meals, how to navigate alcohol during all the holiday parties, and how to even have better sleep during the holidays. Your first 7 days are free. You don't want to miss this one!
A sweet tooth is usually an insulin story.
The list above ranks sweeteners by how hard they hit your blood sugar. What happens next is insulin, and it's the same thread that runs to a fatty liver and to PCOS, which is exactly where the next reader is.
Nurse Doza's Insulin course is five self-paced classes: how metabolism and macros drive your insulin, why insulin resistance is about far more than diabetes, and the difference between real hunger and cravings.
Ten dollars. That's the whole price.
Q: Nurse Doza, I am struggling with painful periods right now. I have PCOS and a fatty liver. Is there anything I can do to help? My doctor has already told me that I would need a hysterectomy soon. Help me!
A: Nurse Doza: The menstrual cycle can be a reflection of the health of your digestive tract. Since you already have a fatty liver (closely tied to insulin resistance in the liver) and PCOS (often tied to insulin resistance too), my guess is your gut needs support as well (insulin resistance can show up in the intestines too... yes, that's also a thing). We need to improve your diet, support the repair of your gut and support your liver's detox. My hope is that this helps your monthly cycles.
(And please keep working with your doctor on this. Painful periods with PCOS can have more than one cause, and before any surgery it's completely reasonable to ask what else could be going on and to get a second opinion. Everything below goes alongside that, not instead of it.)
How to improve your monthly cycle:
Cut out processed foods, processed sugars, processed grains and alcohol.
Eat more raw, steamed and boiled vegetables. Eat more fruits and lean animal protein such as fatty fish and eggs, as foods high in Omega 3s support the ovaries, gut and liver.
Take a supplement to support the gut lining. L-glutamine has been studied for its role in helping "patch up" leaky gut in the digestive tract.
Start a liver detox supplement that provides the liver the nutrients it needs to support detox and healthy hormone balance. The liver helps regulate hormones including estrogen.
Start taking Berberine, which supports healthy blood sugar and insulin, natural GLP-1 production and a healthier gut microbiome. The gut microbiome contains a collection of bacteria called the Estrobolome that helps regulate estrogen as well. (If you take metformin or any other blood sugar medication, or you're trying to get pregnant, check with your provider before adding berberine.)
All the supplements I mentioned above are found in our GOOD POOPS protocol that was designed to help support the liver, the gut, and the gallbladder (even if you are missing one) to help you have better poops. Having "good poops" means your digestive tract is working better, which can mean a healthier menstrual cycle. Pay attention to how each month compares. Keep in mind our GOOD POOPS protocol is a 2 month supply of supplements, so you might need to keep going after the first round until you get your cycle where you want it to be. Then consider a maintenance plan long term.
If you need help with this plan, including ordering and tracking your hormones in labs, I would love to help. Go to nursedoza.com to get your labs done, and book a consult with me to go over them and come up with your own personalized plan for supporting your monthly cycle and your hormones.
Extra credit: if you want to understand what your cycle is telling you month to month, take our $10 Menstrual Cycle course.
Your cycle has numbers behind it. Somebody should read them with you.
The answer above ends with ordering labs and tracking your hormones month to month. A fertility panel (FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone), fasting insulin, testosterone and ALT/AST say a lot together, but only if someone puts them side by side.
A Read Your Labs session is a 15-minute telehealth call where Nurse Doza has already gone through your results before you get on. Bring labs from anywhere. You leave with a plain-language read and one clear next step.
$99, down from $199. Send your labs 24 hours ahead.
Your body isn't broken. It's asking for better inputs.
Your brain isn't stuck where the injury left it. It still runs on what you feed it.
Your sweet tooth isn't a character flaw. It's a habit you can swap one sweetener at a time.
Your cycle isn't random. It's a monthly report on your gut and your liver.
Start with one change. Do it daily. Repeat.
To your health,
Nurse Doza
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